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UTRGV Medical Libraries are expanding services and research resources for graduate health science students while making electronic resources available to the campus community.
The Medical Libraries, previously operated under the School of Medicine, are now under Academic Affairs and serve the School of Medicine, School of Podiatric Medicine and graduate-level health programs.
Erik Wilkinson, associate dean of the Medical Libraries, said two of the biggest resources recently added are Embase with AI and Covidence.
Embase is a database that provides access to articles, dissertations, data sets and other research materials. Its AI tool can provide students with a brief summary of a research question while also providing citations, according to Manuel Rodriguez, research and education librarian.
Wilkinson said that AI should be used as a tool and students should not rely heavily on it to do all the work.
Covidence is designed to assist researchers conducting higher-level research, including systematic and scoping reviews.
Rodriguez said Covidence can help researchers streamline the systematic and scoping review process.
“[If] you have a UTRGV email, you can utilize this tool,” said Rodriguez.
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Although the Medical Libraries focus primarily on the School of Medicine, their electronic resources are available to anyone affiliated with UTRGV who has the proper credentials.
Students can use the Medical Libraries for more than conducting research, according to Anna Naumann, research and education librarian.
“There are different databases that we do have that can help with the studying aspect and not just searching,” Naumann said.
Other resources the library offers include ClinicalKey, which offers textbooks and videos, and Access Medicine, which provides flashcards and quiz tools. Draw It to Know It also provides videos students can follow along to while studying, according to Naumann.
“I believe at the core, right, the medical library and the university are similar; they are here for our patron,” Rodriguez said. “I think the thing that changed is the subject.”
He added that the Medical Libraries focus on medicine and health science, similar to how larger universities may have separate libraries dedicated to areas such as law.
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However, some undergraduate students are unfamiliar with the resources available through the Medical Libraries.
Mikhaela Dublado, a biology junior, said she had never heard of the Medical Library while Victoria Delgado, a biology junior, said she was aware of the Medical Libraries but had never fully utilized them.
“I would only need to use it if it’s relative to … the honors program or special research information with research professors or even just class professors when they need it,” Delgado said.
Delgado said professors could help make students more aware of these resources by mentioning them in classes.
Dublado said that she would consider using the Medical Library’s resources to study for her biochemistry class.
The Medical Libraries are physically located on the Edinburg and Harlingen campuses, with many titles and databases also available online.
For more information about available databases, study tools, research assistance and other services, visit the Medical Library website.
